Authors Note: Okay, I'm so crazily OUT OF CHARACTER that it's actually kind of embarassing but I tried -.-;; Let's try to focus on that, okay? Again, this for mentalsunflower who's in love with Kyo like crazy. Constructive criticism is good. Try not to nitpick small details though, okay:D Iloveyouallbenice.

Disclaimer: Don't ownnnn.

"The fireworks were really amazing, huh?" Tohru enthused pushing strands of healthy brown hair behind her ears. Her eyes, usually bright and excited seemed even more so today. The magic of the fireworks had truly impressed her and left their mark in her eyes. Kyo shrugged. "They were alright. Would have been better if I didn't have to sit here by the rat half the whole damn night." Tohru muffled her giggles.

Everyone had already gone inside. It was 1 AM by now and one by one they all trickled off, muttering something about sleep and how tired they were. Yuki had been the last to go, besides them. Kyo had almost gone in twenty minutes ago but before he could announce this, Tohru bubbled on about how she could spend hours out here and Kyo couldn't leave her alone out here? That's be rude, he figured, so he stayed. And it wasn't as if he was especially tired so he didn't mind. He vowed to himself to protect her, after all. Akito had left, thankfully. Kyo could only begin to imagine how frightful Tohru would have been if he was still in there, watching, waiting.

"You can go inside if you want, Kyo-kun! I'll be fine outside alone if you're really tired, I don't mind! Really!" Tohru told him after a minute of silence, suspecting his silence was caused from being tired.

Kyo shook his head. "Forget it. I'm not budging. Unless that was a hint that you want me to..." he trails off, teasingly. He smiled slyly. Tohru's eyes widened. "What? No! No! I like having you out here," she rambled on quickly. "It's fun! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that!" Kyo touched her shoulder lightly. "Tohru." His tone was slightly annoyed. The use of her name silenced her from babbling. "I was kidding," he said flatly.

"Oh." She smiled brightly. "It was funny."

He rolled his eyes. "No, it wasn't. You can say that it's lame if you want to. I won't hurt you for it or anything you know." He cringed at that right away, remembered the three fingernail scratches on her left cheek. But Tohru just shook her head vigorously but that's all she offered on the topic. Her eyes lifted to the sky again and she mentally traced all the constellations in the sky. She couldn't name them all but they were still really pretty. "The night sky is so beautiful," she exploded, breaking into a huge laugh. She looked at Kyo who looked concentrated on something. He snapped out of it quickly when he felt her gaze on him though. "Wha? Oh, yeah. Sure."

"You're bored, aren't you?" She leaped to her feet. "I'm sorry, we can go in now. It's crazy to be out here so late." She started skipping toward the summer home. "Damn it, Tohru, I'm not bored! I was just thinking. Come on." She looked uncertain but he was stern. "Well, if you're sure..." she said hesitantly and came back those few steps. "Thanks, Kyo-kun. I'm so grateful to have you as a friend. See, they say you're so bad and tough-"

"Because I am!"

"-but I know you're not."

More silence filled the air but this time they both knew it was a comfortable one. It allowed them to swim in their thoughts. Mom would have really really liked this too! But I'm sure she can still see it, feel it. And I know she loves it. This thought brought a smile to her face. Kyo saw the sudden smile light up on her face. "What are you smiling about?" he wondered, looking around and over his shoulder.

"O-oh, nothing important, Kyo-kun," she started, caught off guard. "I-I just- I know my Mom would had loved seeing the fireworks tonight. That's all." Kyo smiled. Slightly. "You're a lot like your mom," he told her, turning his head back away from her. Her mouth opened hung ajar. "R-really? That's so- that- thank you." Her smile could have melted ice. Kyo didn't know everything about Tohru's mom but he knew enough and from that he could tell where Tohru got her optimism from, her kindness. "Uhh, you're welcome, I guess."

"Oh, thank you again for the swimsuit! I loved it so much! It was perfect!" Kyo flushed slightly, a compliment to his hair and eyes. "Like I said, I didn't pick it out," he muttered gruffly under his breath. "So don't thank me."
"But you helped!" she insisted. "And besides, who else would stay out this late with me outside? You're deserve a thanks!"

"No, I don't!" he snapped back. She blinked and her usually happy face was blank. She just blinked. Kyo exhaled heavily. "You're welcome," he finally grumbled and that's all it took to bring the smile back to Tohru's face. That's all he needed. Was to make her smile again. And it was so easy that when he first met her, he thought there was a catch. Things were different now. They were closer. And he got to discover what else made her smile; he discovered her.

Frusterated by these thoughts, he started flicking the palm of his hands. Tohru caught on to this, alarmed. "What are you doing?" she cried. Without thought, she leaned over and grabbed his left hand with right to stop him. "You'll dig a hole in your skin if you're not careful, Kyo-kun!" Kyo wasn't listening. Instead, he was concentrating on the fact that he was holding hands with Tohru. Tohru noticed this a few moments after he did. "O-oh," she said softly. Kyo didn't let go. He had no desire to. "Ky-Kyo-kun?" she cut in shakily. He was silent. And she understood. Relaxing, she didn't let go either and their hands were intertwined for at least another hour while they chatted about anything and everything. After they stood up to go in and finally let go of each others hands, Tohru felt awkward. She didn't quite know what to do now...

Kyo took care of that for her by leaning in ever so slighly and kissing her so lightly on the lips he questioned if she felt it but she definitely did. "Th-th-thank you, Kyo-kun" she managed, shakily. She was completely surprised. "Are you thanking me?" he asked, incredulously. "Tohru, that's-" he shook his head. "You are definitely crazy."

Tohru just giggled, a sound Kyo had come to enjoy. "Maybe so!" She grabbed his hand again. "Let's go in." And they slowly made their way back to the summer home, hands locked together swinging slowly between them.